1
00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,560
Here,
exactly one year ago,
2
00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:09,640
in operating room n°2,
3
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:14,000
in the cardio-vascular surgery centre
of Broussais Hospital,
4
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,040
a man was given a new heart,
5
00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,600
because his own didn't work.
6
00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:23,480
This man is Father Charles Boulogne,
7
00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:25,600
who is with us,
8
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,240
watching a surgical procedure.
9
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,000
Are you happy
with your first year
10
00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:33,960
with your new heart?
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00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,800
Yes.
It doesn't trouble me anymore.
12
00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,840
That's the difference,
compared with the old one.
13
00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:42,840
You were aware of the complications.
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Did you say yes without hesitating?
15
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Actually, I asked for the procedure,
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because I considered that,
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as a priest,
it was my duty
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to set an example.
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I had nothing to lose.
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It could only help others,
and encourage other donors,
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00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,480
to follow suit,
if it was successful.
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I had full confidence in Prof. Dubost.
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I felt very serene,
in fact, I was virtually the only one.
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Do you climb these stairs often?
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00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,560
No, I don't often have to.
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But it's definitely easier now.
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You don't find it tiring.
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00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,480
No, I climb them quickly,
29
00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,320
so I'm short of breath,
but I can't feel the heart.
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00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,720
The biggest fear of a heart patient
are the stairs.
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There's always the concern
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that the slightest effort
will give them trouble.
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00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:46,720
You don't have that worry anymore.
34
00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,080
No, I don't.
I have another concern though.
35
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When I climb stairs
36
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,800
with patients
who haven't reached this stage yet,
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00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,880
it's always a bit embarrassing,
you know?
38
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,800
What is your life here like?
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00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:24,360
Well, my day starts
when I wake up, of course.
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00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:26,920
I bathe.
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00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,400
I say Mass.
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Then I am visited by these gentlemen,
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00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,640
for nursing care.
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00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,240
There are always tests to be done,
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00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,400
blood samples are taken
twice a week,
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00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,160
lab tests,
our progress is monitored closely.
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00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,920
They watch over you
48
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,640
like you watch over milk,
on a cooker, so to speak.
49
00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:58,800
What do you do in the afternoon?
50
00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,480
In the afternoon,
like many lazy people,
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I take a little nap.
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00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:06,480
And lots of people visit me.
53
00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:08,680
It resembles monastic life.
54
00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:10,760
Yes, it does.
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The specifics were unexpected though,
that's for sure.
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00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:16,560
I must say that obeying the doctor
57
00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,680
is much harder than religious obedience.
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00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,240
When are you going to Marseille?
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00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,600
Marseille, at the next opportunity.
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00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,040
As soon as they let me slip away,
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00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,600
I'm going to Marseille,
to Saint-Maximin.
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00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:32,920
And I'll stop in Lyon.
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00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:34,120
We'll see.
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00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,360
Father, do you have
a lot of mail to reply to?
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00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,120
Oh, yes, I do.
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I wish I had more time for that.
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00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:44,880
How many letters a day do you get?
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00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,960
Let's say...
About 15.
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Who writes to you?
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00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,000
Friends,
and a lot of strangers,
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00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,440
who want to express their sympathy.
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00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,440
They tell me
that they think a lot about it all,
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00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:03,960
about their problems.
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00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,440
You see, many people
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00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,920
have heart patients in their families
or circle of friends.
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00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,400
Do you have time to answer them all?
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00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:15,480
I try to believe that I do.
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00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,680
My answers are as brief as possible.
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00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:22,160
I try and do my best.
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00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,440
Here,
let me seize this opportunity
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00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,520
to answer all the people
who write to me.
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00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,080
I would like to thank them,
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00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,040
and apologise to them,
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00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:36,720
if I can't answer every single letter.
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00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:38,840
It isn't for lack of good will.
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00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:42,800
Are you going to write
your memoirs
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00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,200
as a transplant patient
like Blaiberg?
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00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:46,760
Certainly not.
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00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,840
Today, Father Boulogne
is going into town.
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00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,800
His friend, Joseph Aurès,
walks him to his car.
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00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,520
Joseph Aurès
is a heart transplant patient too.
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00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,160
He was operated on
by Prof. Dubost
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00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,960
and his assistant,
associate professor Cachera,
94
00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:06,680
on November 23rd.
95
00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,920
Joseph Aurès will soon be able
to leave the hospital.
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00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,000
Let's not get run over.
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00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,160
Father Boulogne's first visit
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00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,440
is to the Dominican monastery,
rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré,
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00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,920
where he may retire
one of these days.
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00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,560
Come, come with me.
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00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:49,680
We have, we have...
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00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:51,600
It's been 20 years.
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00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,080
- Good morning.
- This is Father Declerck.
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00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:57,600
ACCESS
TO THE CONVENT AND CHURCH
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00:05:57,800 --> 00:05:59,880
- It's the same.
- Is it?
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00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,080
I'll see him since all eternity.
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00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,560
- Has it been a long time?
- It has.
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I must say that...
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00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,880
Sometimes, they need to...
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00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,880
- Won't you have some?
- No, I'll have two eggs.
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00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:19,840
Two eggs, no salt.
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00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:23,480
We have nuns who cook for us.
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What a brilliant idea!
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00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,760
They feel sorry
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00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,520
to host a celebrity
like you who won't eat.
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00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:35,440
What celebrity?
You're pulling my leg.
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00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:40,560
Father, here we are in a setting
more familiar to you.
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00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,440
When you think about the heart
beating in your chest now,
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00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,000
after it beat
in someone else's chest,
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00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,920
do you say:
"my" heart, "his" heart?
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00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,320
No, not at all,
really, not at all.
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00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,120
Everything's wired so beautifully
that I can't see any difference.
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00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,400
The heart
isn't a sentimental organ at all.
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00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,840
It's like an engine,
a very good engine, if you will.
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00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,720
But it has nothing to do
with all the nonsense about it.
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00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:12,720
Psychology doesn't change.
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00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,400
My fellow priests can still discern
my character flaws.
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00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:18,400
Alas!
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00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:20,560
Nothing changes.
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And your qualities too.
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00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,920
As to that...
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You know...
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Father,
do you ever think
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00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,360
about the man
who gave you his heart?
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00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:33,480
Yes, I do.
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00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,680
I think about him,
with gratitude.
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00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:38,720
But I have to prompt myself.
138
00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,280
I don't do it spontaneously
because I don't feel the heart.
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I don't feel it at all.
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I need to remind myself
141
00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,160
to realise that I owe it to someone,
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whose brother agreed to the transplant.
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00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,880
There's something
of a paradox in your story.
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00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,480
Maybe you could explain it to us now.
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00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,680
A few months ago,
you began a sort of pilgrimage.
146
00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:10,080
You travel all over France
to share this message:
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00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,280
"You need to give your heart.
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00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,920
"Don't hesitate when it's necessary."
149
00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:20,360
What has led you
to preach for heart transplant?
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00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,160
Well, it's the experience I've had.
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00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,440
After my operation,
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00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:26,560
they wanted...
153
00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:31,560
Professor Dubost wanted
to perform other transplants.
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00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:37,360
However, he's had 16 cases
where he couldn't,
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because the families refused.
156
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They imagined
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that it would be disrespectful
to the corpse,
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00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,080
to agree to the removal of the organ.
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00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,920
At first,
I had been involved
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00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,640
in encouraging
potential organ recipients
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00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:04,040
to agree to the surgery,
as it is doable.
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00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,720
But suddenly,
the problem was inversed.
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00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:11,560
It wasn't really the recipients,
of which there were many,
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00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,160
it was the donors,
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00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,640
and family consent.
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And so, I used rather crude terms,
167
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and said that it is a crime by omission
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to refuse the removal of the organ,
169
00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,040
seeing as...
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00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,920
First, there's no justification to it.
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00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:32,840
From a Christian point of view,
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the aim is to help,
as much as possible,
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even after your death.
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From a human point of view,
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00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:41,480
as to the issue of respect,
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00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:45,920
it is indeed
more respectful towards a corpse,
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00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:50,480
to allow the removal
of a part that remains useful,
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00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:52,760
that can lead...
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00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,080
It will grant a life.
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00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,120
Better than to send it
directly to the worms,
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00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,800
even with all the liturgical pomp
you can imagine.
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00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,440
When you consider
the life you're leading now,
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00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,400
and the constraints
of repeated medical tests,
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00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:13,680
if you had to do it all over again,
185
00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:15,240
would you?
186
00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:17,200
Now, that...
187
00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:23,800
That's a blunt question,
my answer would be very nuanced.
188
00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,640
I would say that not only I,
189
00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,400
but even the surgeons couldn't foretell
190
00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:37,640
that the transplant
wouldn't stop with the surgery,
191
00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,280
nor with the period
192
00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:43,160
following surgery.
193
00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,160
Maybe if I had known
194
00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,440
how high the price to pay was...
195
00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,880
I don't know, as a human,
what I'd have done.
196
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,000
With the grace of God maybe.
197
00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,280
But...
I can't answer
198
00:10:58,440 --> 00:10:59,640
because, you know...
199
00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,160
It would be preposterous on my part,
200
00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,440
to say yes,
straight away.
201
00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,560
I agreed,
and so it is.
202
00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,400
I endure it with all my heart.
203
00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:16,600
Would I do it all over again?
204
00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,040
That's something else.
205
00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:22,360
And if a close acquaintance of yours
206
00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,240
needed to receive a heart,
207
00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:27,360
just as you did,
208
00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,280
would you advise them
209
00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,920
to go through with it
and live the life you lead now?
210
00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:39,800
I think it would depend a lot
211
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,400
on the moral potential
I could see in them.
212
00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:49,000
I believe that
if they didn't have a superior reason,
213
00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,280
on a strictly human basis,
214
00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,800
they wouldn't make it,
in my humble opinion.
215
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,600
I've made it only because I'm a priest.
It's part of my ministry.
216
00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,800
If someone asked me
217
00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:04,360
what to do...
218
00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:09,360
If they had
morally sound and valid reasons,
219
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:11,760
family related, etc.,
220
00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:13,360
I would say yes.
221
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,160
Father, we will see with time,
222
00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,000
when we celebrate
your second anniversary
223
00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:20,640
with your new heart,
224
00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:22,760
whether you'll be of the same mind.
225
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,360
Subtitles: T. Close-Koenig,
E. Fuchs & N. Guechi